Friday, January 23, 2015

#Excerpt: YESTERDAY PEOPLE by Terri Herman-Ponce

Lottie sighed. “I don’t know that either. But if we
can uncover more of our past, that could potentially help David find Ada now.
At least, that’s my hope.”

This needed thinking through first. “We can’t go
into this blindly—”

“I think this is a fabulous idea, Jelly Bean.”

“Mom, I don’t—”

“Can you imagine what you could uncover together?”
Mom was staring at Lottie and ignoring me. “I’d never thought about the
historical angle before. It sounds fascinating.”

“Wait a minute—”

“This could be the break you need.”

“This isn’t a break—”

“Tell me more about this.”

“Stop!” My voice thundered through the kitchen and
Mom jumped, clutching her hand to her chest. “Research like this isn’t kept
quiet. Even if we thought it was a good idea, at some point reports will be
issued and studies will be shared, and then there’s the possibility it could
make the news or television.” I shook my head. MD would never approve of the
idea, much less support it. I signed a contract when I joined PROs and promised
them a number of things. Keeping a low profile was one of them. “I have an
agreement with PROs and I intend to keep it. There is no further discussion about
this. There can’t be any meetings with Berzet, at least not for the interim.”

“It may not be that simple,” Lottie said. “Galen is
involved with this research, too.”

I froze. “You’re sure about this?”

Lottie nodded.

“I don’t understand,” Mom said. “Why does David
have to sign a contract with PROs and Galen doesn’t?”

Galen signed a contract. I’d seen it. Which meant
he was about to breach it.

“I know we have a tenuous relationship with Galen,”
Lottie said, “but we also have a history that spans millennia. There are things
we can learn about ourselves that can enrich our lives and our relationship,
and that could potentially help Ada.”

“A precarious and dishonest history, Lottie. You
cheated with him once—”

Mom grabbed my hand. “Let this go, Bubbala. That
was a long time ago. Let’s hear what she has to say.”

Lottie drew in a breath, held it, and let it out
long and slow. “Why can’t we satisfy Dr. Berzet’s research needs and our own at
the same time?”

“Didn’t you hear me? I can’t do this. I can’t risk
my career.”

“David, listen to me.” Mom edged her chair in
closer. “Your feelings about Galen aside, it’s clear that Galen is going to do
this with or without you. And there is also the possibility that you might
discover something in your past that will help you find Ada now. She is a very
special girl.”

Her brows rose and she gave me a pointed look. It
felt like a hidden message I didn’t understand.

“The connection between kindred souls and past
lives is a very powerful thing,” Mom went on, “and should not be ignored. Just
because we can’t understand something doesn’t make it any less meaningful.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“By the gods, you can be so dense sometimes.” Mom
laughed. “I’m saying to give this a go.”

“No. No, there is something else going on inside
that head of yours. Your wheels are turning. I can see it.”

“You have a daughter, Bubbala, who’s right here in
the States at least for now. You relied on instinct once before to find a loved
one and it could be the only chance you have now to do it again.”

We stared at each other from across the table, and
I still couldn't help but feel manipulated.

Lottie pressed her palm to my thigh. “I know you’re
struggling to do the right thing, but what could be more important than a
twelve year old girl who needs her father?”

Nothing.

In the background, the refrigerator started
humming, a reminder that it was still empty. I was feeling empty, too.

“Fine,” I said with a resigned sigh, but I didn’t
hold out hope. Instinct may have drawn me to find Lottie when she was abducted,
but relying on it at the time felt natural. Like breathing. But when it came to
Ada? It felt all kinds of different.

And it wasn’t a good different.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

David Bellotti’s only focus is to find his abducted twelve-year
old daughter. When he sees her on a news segment with her captor, a renowned
archaeologist who’s made a major discovery, David sets out to bring her back
home. But the search leads him to a secret message that could alter man’s
history forever.

A message David and his daughter inscribed twelve-thousand years
ago.

A message that will prove dangerous in the wrong hands.

Protecting this powerful information seems simple until David
realizes some people will use his daughter against him to get it, at whatever
the cost. Now David must make a choice. Protect mankind from a secret past that
must remain hidden, or save his little girl.

AUTHOR Bio and
Links:

Terri
looks for any opportunity to make stuff up. She thinks anything that can’t so
easily be explained is worth an extra look and often makes a great story. She
loves red wine, scotch, sunrises, Ancient Egypt, the beach—and a host of other
stuff that would take too much real estate to talk about. The youngest of five
children, Terri lives with her husband and son on Long Island. And, in her next
life, if she hasn’t moved on to somewhere else, she wants to be an astronomer.
Terri’s fascinated with the night skies almost as much as she’s fascinated with
ancient Egypt.

Terri
is a member of member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America, and
you can read about her at http://terriponce.com/.

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